Assign a Special Loan Period

The usual loan period for an item type is specified through Polaris Administration. However, sometimes you need to change an item’s loan period at check-out or renewal. Perhaps a patron is going on vacation, or you want to override an end-of-term due date. At check-out or renewal, you can create a special loan period for items assigned to your branch if you have the appropriate permission ( Setting Up eReceipts).

To change the standard loan period before the items are checked out or renewed:

Note:
Your library may allow you to reset due dates after items have been checked out. See Reset due dates of checked-out items.

1. Display the Check Out workform and input the patron’s barcode. See Check out an item.
2. Click Special in the Loan Period area of the workform.

The Special Loan dialog box appears.

3. Set the due date by one of these methods:
   • To specify the exact date, select a date on the calendar. The loan period appears in the Loan period boxes to the right of the calendar.
   • To specify the loan period, type the number of minutes, hours, or days in the Loan period value box, and select the loan interval (minutes, hours, or days) in the Loan period interval box. These boxes are located to the right of the calendar. The due date is calculated and highlighted on the calendar. The system takes closed days and dates into account when calculating the due date.

4. Choose one of the following options to specify the application of the special loan period:

Important:
The special loan period must be set before you scan the affected items.

• To apply the loan period to the patron’s next item only, select Apply to next item only.
• To apply the loan period to all the items for this patron, select Apply to all items for this patron.
• To apply the loan period to all items being checked out during the current session, select Apply to all checkouts. If you select this option, the setting remains in effect until you click Reset on the Checkout workform or close the workform.

5. Click OK on the dialog box. The Check Out workform appears, and the loan period or due date (depending on the selection method) appears in the Loan Period box.
6. Scan the item barcode in the Item barcode box, or type the barcode and press ENTER. The status bar indicates that the checkout was successful. The item information appears in the Items Checked Out list.

Related Information

• Special loan periods at renewal - You can also assign special loan periods when you are renewing items from the Patron Status workform. See Renew items from the Patron Status workform.

• Automatic shortened loan periods - Your library may choose to shorten an item’s loan period automatically under the following circumstances:

  • A specified number of hold requests are placed for the item.
  • The due date is past an end-of-term due date.

You may see a message that the loan period has been shortened.

• Hourly loans - Your library determines whether hourly loans of 23 hours or less are due at closing time or due on the next day the library is open. Whether your library allows automatic overnight loans or blocks overnight hourly loans, your library can also set additional time so that items do not become overdue immediately upon the library’s opening.